Chief Joseph Hatchery Program
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Chief Joseph Hatchery Program Draft Environmental Impact Statement DOE/EIS-0384 May 2007 Chief Joseph Hatchery Program Responsible Agency: U.S. Department of Energy, Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) Title of Proposed Project: Chief Joseph Hatchery Program Cooperating Tribe: Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation State Involved: Washington Abstract: The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) describes a Chinook salmon hatchery production program sponsored by the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation (Colville Tribes). BPA proposes to fund the construction, operation and maintenance of the program to help mitigate for anadromous fish affected by the Federal Columbia River Power System dams on the Columbia River. The Colville Tribes want to produce adequate salmon to sustain tribal ceremonial and subsistence fisheries and enhance the potential for a recreational fishery for the general public. The DEIS discloses the environmental effects expected from facility construction and program operations and a No Action alternative. The Proposed Action is to build a hatchery near the base of Chief Joseph Dam on the Columbia River for incubation, rearing and release of summer/fall and spring Chinook. Along the Okanogan River, three existing irrigation ponds, one existing salmon acclimation pond, and two new acclimation ponds (to be built) would be used for final rearing, imprinting and volitional release of chinook smolts. The Chief Joseph Dam Hatchery Program Master Plan (Master Plan, Northwest Power and Conservation Council, May 2004) provides voluminous information on program features. The US Army Corps of Engineers, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission, Oroville-Tonasket Irrigation District, and others have cooperated on project design and siting. Public review of and comment upon this Draft EIS will continue through June 18, 2007. Responses to comments will be made part of the Final EIS, which is scheduled for completion in September 2007. BPA expects to issue a Record of Decision whether to implement the project in September 2007. For more information about the Draft EIS, please contact: Mickey Carter, Environmental Protection Specialist Bonneville Power Administration P. O. Box 3621, KEC-4 Portland, OR 97208-3621 Telephone: (503) 230-5885 Email: [email protected] For additional copies of this document, please call 1-800-622-4520 and ask for the document by name. The EIS is also on the Internet at: http://www.efw.bpa.gov/environmental_services/Document_Library/Chief_Joseph/. You may also request additional copies by writing to: Bonneville Power Administration P.O. Box 3621 Portland, Oregon 97208 ATT : Public Information Center – CHDL-1 For additional information on DOE NEPA activities, please contact Carol M. Borgstrom, Director, Office of NEPA Policy and Compliance, GC-20, U.S. Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue S.W., Washington D.C. 20585-0103, phone: 1-800-472-2756 or visit the DOE NEPA Web site at www.eh.doe.gov/nepa. Chief Joseph Hatchery Program TABLE OF CONTENTS SUMMARY.....................................................................................................................S-1 ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS........................................................................viii GLOSSARY ....................................................................................................................... x CHAPTER 1: PURPOSE AND NEED ...........................................................................1-1 1.1 Purpose and Need....................................................................................................1-1 1.2 The Salmon Situation in the Okanogan...................................................................1-3 1.3 Decisions to be Made and Responsible Officials....................................................1-4 1.4 The Chief Joseph Hatchery Master Plan .................................................................1-5 1.5 Public Scoping and Key Issues ...............................................................................1-5 1.6 Issues Beyond the Scope of this EIS.......................................................................1-6 1.7 Relationship to Fish Management Plans, Programs and Projects in the Vicinity ...1-7 CHAPTER 2: ALTERNATIVES ....................................................................................2-1 2.1 Proposed Project......................................................................................................2-1 2.1.1 Program Biological Components ......................................................2-1 2.1.2 Critical Research...............................................................................2-4 2.1.3 Monitoring and Evaluation................................................................2-4 2.1.4 Chief Joseph Hatchery Complex.......................................................2-5 2.1.5 Utilities and Water Supply ..............................................................2-10 2.1.6 Employee Housing..........................................................................2-11 2.1.7 Acclimation Ponds..........................................................................2-14 2.2 No Action Alternative ...........................................................................................2-23 2.3 Alternatives Eliminated from Consideration.........................................................2-24 2.3.1 Improving Tributary Habitat ...........................................................2-24 2.3.2 Improving Passage Conditions at Columbia River Dams ...............2-24 2.3.3 Reducing Ocean and Lower Columbia River Harvest ....................2-25 2.3.4 Use, Expand, or Reprogram Existing Facilities ..............................2-25 2.4 Comparison of the Alternatives Considered in Detail...........................................2-25 CHAPTER 3: AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES..........................................................................................................3-1 3.1 Overview .................................................................................................................3-1 3.2 Fish and Aquatic Habitat.........................................................................................3-1 Draft EIS Page iii Chief Joseph Hatchery Program 3.2.1 Affected Environment .......................................................................3-1 3.2.2 Environmental Consequences.........................................................3-11 3.2.3 Cumulative Effects..........................................................................3-19 3.3 Wildlife..................................................................................................................3-21 3.3.1 Affected Environment .....................................................................3-21 3.3.2 Environmental Consequences.........................................................3-26 3.3.3 Cumulative Effects..........................................................................3-30 3.4 Vegetation and Wetlands.......................................................................................3-31 3.4.1 Affected Environment .....................................................................3-31 3.4.2 Environmental Consequences.........................................................3-35 3.4.3 Cumulative Effects..........................................................................3-37 3.5 Geologic Hazards, and Soils .................................................................................3-38 3.5.1 Affected Environment .....................................................................3-38 3.5.2 Environmental Consequences.........................................................3-39 3.5.3 Cumulative Effects..........................................................................3-41 3.6 Hydrology, Floodplains, and Water Quality .........................................................3-41 3.6.1 Affected Environment .....................................................................3-41 3.6.2 Environmental Consequences.........................................................3-48 3.6.3 Cumulative Effects..........................................................................3-52 3.7 Land Use, Transportation and Recreation.............................................................3-52 3.7.1 Affected Environment .....................................................................3-52 3.7.2 Environmental Consequences.........................................................3-56 3.7.3 Cumulative Effects..........................................................................3-60 3.8 Socioeconomics.....................................................................................................3-60 3.8.1 Affected Environment .....................................................................3-60 3.8.2 Environmental Consequences.........................................................3-62 3.8.3 Environmental Justice.....................................................................3-67 3.8.4 Cumulative Effects..........................................................................3-67 3.9 Cultural Resources................................................................................................3-68 3.9.1 Affected Environment .....................................................................3-68 3.9.2 Environmental Consequences.........................................................3-69